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2023
ENGLISH
(Second Language) SECTION – A
READING COMPREHENSION (SEEN)
1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Some days after the funeral, a special train took Gandhiji’s ashes to Allahabad. The compartment was decked with flowers. People on the train sang “bhajans”. People did not weep anymore for they could feel Gandhiji’s presence amid the flowers and the songs. At every station sorrowful crowds filled the platform. Amid song and prayer the train reached Allahabad. The ashes were immersed. in the Ganges where a huge crowd had gathered at the bank. Afterwards we all went back to Delhi.
Back in Delhi. 1 felt at sea. I had not directly walked with Gandhiji, gone to prison at his call or made any sacrifice for my country. My sisters and I, and other young people like me. had been merely onlookers- But still I felt at sea. I felt I had grown up within a magic circle. With Bapu’s
passing away, I felt the magic circle had vanished, leaving me unprotected. With an effort I roused myself, I asked myself- had Bapu lived and died for nothing? How could I so easily lose courage when he was no longer there? My values were not so weak. Millions of people would have been ordinary folk but for Bapu. He brought them out of indifference and awakened them to one another’s suffering. What if now Bapu is gone? We were still there, young, strong and proud to bear his banner before us.
A. Write the correct alternative in the given space to complete the following sentences: 1×5=5
(a) After the funeral Gandhiji’s ashes were taken to….
(i) Delhi
(ii) Allahabad
(iii) Kolkata
(d) Patna
Ans………..
(b) People who were on the train with the ashes did not weep
(i) offered prayer
(ii) sang songs
(iii) expressed sorrow
(iv) sang “bhajans”
Ans……….
(c) “Back in Delhi, I felt at sea-In this sentences ‘felt at sea’ means…
(i) felt at a loss
(ii) visited the sea
(iii) fell very sad
(iv) felt very generous
Ans…….
(d) Like many other young Indian, the narrator and her sister had been
(i) Gandhiji’s companions in prison
(ii) co-workers of Gandhiji
(iii) mere observers of Gandhi’s work
(iv) making sacrifices for Gandhiji
Ans………
(e) After Gandhi’s death, the narrator wanted to….
(i) lose motivation
(ii) remain courageous
(iii) turn indifferent
(iv) weakens value
Ans…..
B. Complete the following sentence with information from the text: 1×3=3
(i) At the time of immersion of Gandhiji’s ashes_______________________________________
(ii) When Gandhiji passed away, the magic__________________________________________
(iii) Even if Bapu was gone_______________________________________________________
C. Fill in the chart with information from the text : 2×2=4
| Statement | Reason |
| (i) People stopped whelping for Gandhiji | |
| (ii) | Gandhi brought ordinary folk out of indifference |
2. Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking.
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the while clouds flying.
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gull’s crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the trick’s
A. Tick the right answer : 1×4=4
(a) The colour associated with the mist dawn in the poem is
(i) White
(ii) blue
(iii) grey
(iv) black
(b) The call that he poet cannot deny, is the call of the
(i) White clouds
(ii) running tides
(iii) lonely sea
(iv) greymist
(d) The intensity of the poet’s desire to go on a voyage is expressed
(i) repeating the same phrase “I must go down….’ the am
(ii) describing the sea voyage in detail, sea voyage with gypsies
(iii) comparing the voyager’s life with gypsies
(iv) referring to the running tide and flying cloud
B. Answer the following questions: 2×2=4
(i) Which word in the poem tells you that this is not going to be the first voyage of the poet? Why does the poet ask for a star?
Ans.___________________________________________
(ii) What does the poet ask for at the end of his journey?
Ans.___________________________________________
Reading Comprehension (Unseen).
3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
More than 3500 hectares of mangrove plantation have been done in the Sundarban by the forest department in order to protect the delta from soil erosion as well as storms and cyclones. Large swathes of mangroves had got damaged in the Sundarbans when cycle Amphan struck. Other factors like cutting down forests to make way for pisciculture ponds and farming fields have also played a part in this.
According to a senior officer of the forest department, many tens of thousands of migrant labourers had returned to the mangrove delta during the Covid-induced lockdown. Many of them took to an alternate livelihood. Some started fanning and fishing in local ponds on a small scale and to make way for these large swathes of mangroves had been cut down leaving the area exposed to the vagaries of storms as well as soil erosion. The department had roped in Ihe help of joint forest management
committees and local women to plant mangrove saplings. According to an estimate, by the end of 2022 around 17.5 lakh saplings will be planted.
Milan Mondal, the divisional forest officer of South 24-Parganas, said their efforts were paying off as the villagers themselves realised the importance of the mangrove cover after the Sunderbans was lashed with back to back cyclones, including Amphan and Yaas. In areas like Lothian Island, G Plot and Frasergunj, mangrove saplings have been planted on as many as 230 acres. The forest department has also managed to generate employment for more than 12,500 villagers.
[Adapted from an article published in the Telegraph dated 25th July 2022]
A. Tick the right answer 1×6=6
(i) An initiative for mangrove plantation has taken place in the Sunderbans by the.
(a) irrigation department ☐
(b) forest department☐
(c) agriculture department ☐
(d) pisciculture department ☐
(ii) Mangrove plantation initiative aimed at protecting Sunderbans from storms and
(a) human greed ☐
(b) Amphan ☐
(c) pisciculture ponds ☐
(d) soil erosion ☐
(iii) The area covered with mangrove under this initiative measures less than
(a) 4000 hectares ☐
(b) 3000 hectares ☐
(c) 2000 hectares ☐
(d) 2500 hectares ☐
(iv) The number of cyclones named in this passage is
(a) three ☐
(b) one ☐
(c) two ☐
(d) many ☐
(v) The collaborators helping forest department in this initiative are
(a) local farmers and local women ☐
(b) forest management committees and local women ☐
(c) local farmers and local fishermen ☐
(d) all the villagers and forest management committees ☐
(vi) An appropriate title for the passage would be
(a) An endeavour to protect mangroves ☐
(b) A bid to protect mangroves in Sunderbans ☐
(c) Planting mangroves to protect the Sunderbans ☐
(d) Plantation of mangroves for protection of life ☐
B. Each of the following statements is either ‘True’ or ‘False’. Write ‘T’ for ‘True’ and ‘F’ for ‘False’ in the boxes on the right-hand side. Also pick out suitable line(s) or phrase(s) from the passage in support of your answer. (1+1)x3=6
(i) Cyclone Amphan damaged large areas of mangroves in the Sunderbans.
Supporting Sentence:___________________________________________
(ii) Cyclones are the only cause of the damage of the mangroves in the sundarbans.
Supporting Sentence:_________________________________________________
(iii) Planting mangrove saplings has generated employment for many villagers..
Supporting Sentence:____________________________________________
C. Answer the following question : 2×4=8
(i) How many migrant labourers returned to the Sunderbans during Covid-induced lockdown and what alternative livelihood did they take in?
(ii) What were the impact of migrant labourers’ alternative livelihood in Sunderban’s nature?
(iii) Name two areas of Sunderbans where mangrove saplings have been planted.
(iv) Who is Milan Mondal? What did he say about the effect of their effort on the villagers of the area?
SECTION – B
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
4. Write the correct alternative to fill in the blanks: 1×3=3
The Tortoise set out to collect all the wisdom in the world, and as he _______________(has been gathering / gathered / had gathered) each piece he put it into a large gourd. This took a long time, and when Tortoise thought he __________________(had collected collected collect) all there was, he __________(decides / had decided / decided) to hide the gourd on top of a tree.
5. Do as directed :
A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and prepositions: 1×3=3
Life had not been smooth sailing_______________________Sudha.
In 1981, ______________car she was travelling met with an accident and her right leg had to be amputated below the knee. She walked around ______________crutches.
B. (i) people on the train sang ‘Bhajans” (Change the voice) 1×3=3
Ans.___________________________________________
(ii) Samuel said, “Swaminathan, where is your homework?” (Change into indirect speech)
Ans.___________________________________________
(iii) He put it in an envelope and scaled it. (Turn into a simple sentence)
Ans.___________________________________________
C. Choose the correct phrasal verbs from the list given below to replace the words underlined. Write the correct phrasal verbs in oxes on the right-hand side changing the form where necessary. There is one extra phrasal verb in the list: 1×3
(i) Sahana visited you last night to invite you to her birthday party. ________________
(ii) Solving the puzzle was so difficult that I stopped trying. ___________________
(iii) The man created a story to avoid punishment._____________________
[call up, make up, call on, give up]
6. Given below are the meaning of four words which you will find in the passage in question No. 3 Find out the words and write them in the appropriate boxes on the right hand side. 2×4=8
(i) Loss _______________
(ii) unprotected _______________
(iii) a person who moves from one place to _______________
(iv) work _______________
SECTION – C
WRITING
7. Write a short biography (In about 100 words) of Sukumar Ray, the great Bengali writer and poet, on the basis of the points given below: 10
Birth : 30 October, 1887
Parents : Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and Bidhumukhi Devi
Education: Attended City College School-Graduated with double honours in Physics and Chemistry from Presidency College-trained in photography and printing technology from England.
Profession :Writer, illustrator, photographer, publisher of ‘Sandesh’, the famous children’s magazine.
Notable works: Notable for writing “nonsense” rhymes in Bengali e.g. Abol Tabol, Pagla Dashu, HaJaBaRaLa etc.
Death :September 10, 1923
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